[06:42:33] Quinn was hungover.

The night before was wild. Quinn had walked outside inebriated and tearful, and returned covered in blood, with a trophy to boot. Onibi's head lay on top a tarp, where the fluids can drain out.

She remembers everything but crawling into bed in her full suit of armor. Now, she wakes up with an aching head and aching bones. Every piece of her body thrums with a constant, dull pain.

Perhaps she had too much to drink.

She clatters as she drags herself out of bed. The sound of her plates of armor scraping together rings through the quarters, enough to wake up some of the lightest sleepers.

She doesn't care.

She tears off her cloak and tosses it behind her on the bed, pulling herself into the kitchen area. She doesn't even bother to take a glass; Quinn draws water straight out of the air with magic and siphons it into her mouth.

She looks like a wreck...
(Quinn)
[06:43:24] Dante Malakia: (Turn off private for a moment)
[06:44:16] Quinn: gotcha, sorry)
[06:45:07] Dante Malakia: (You are in the kitchen then?)
[06:45:07] Quinn: yes)
[06:50:14] Dante had woken up quite early. His head too ached but he was also Urayan. Getting over these things was a task of no major issue. His kind drank regularly. He had much on his mind however. The night before had been something, that was for sure.

He'd come for training and attained a new interest along the way, and by the end of it all he had claimed two victories, one personal, and one that could better Valmasia. With Onibi gone surely his Dark Council would crumble... Atleast that was the hope.

He stood in the kitchen, removing from a sack several items and tossing them into pans. Cooking, it helped clear the mind, the fragrance of food and the wonderful taste aided with the passing of sickness, and it was something he was admittedly quite good at... He even had a proper kitchen to use this time!

Bacon, Sasauge, eggs. It was what he had been able to gather in the area and from the cupboards of the Academy and so he'd make due. Though as he was wrapping it up he heard the sound of armor coming along and witness Quinn draw water straight from the air to drink. He laughed lightly.

"Long night?" There was amusment in his tone as he took items off the flame and placed them onto plates.
(Dante Malakia)
[06:55:21] Quinn's groggy stare flicks over to fix on Dante. She's almost glaring at him. Her feelings about him were blurry and weird, masked over by the complete ache of her body.

She couldn't really make herself care right now.

She moves over and grabs a plate, and picks up what she want's from Dante's food... with her bare fingers. They're still coated in blood. She raises a handfull of bacon to her face and shoves it in her mouth.

"Yeah."
(Quinn)
[07:01:20] With the lack of his cloak on it could be noted that he had bandages wrapped around his shoulder where the yokai had pierced through with it's claw. It seemed he hadn't used his Sacred power to heal that injury. How odd.

Though as he noticed the look on Quinn's face he shrugged, taking a bite of eggs as she jammed bacon down her hatch. "It was a good fight. You were pretty impressive. Particularly how you took your trophy." he said as he chewed on his food before swallowing.

He approached her, the Sacred Glow returning to his body as he drew near her, extending a hand to place on her shuolder. If allowed it would start to ease the pain and ache of her body notably faster.

"Care for a glass of water?" he offered as he set his golden gaze upon her face.
(Dante Malakia)
[07:06:27] Quinn stiffens up beneath his touch. She shoulders past, moving to open up one of the cupboards. She grabs a glass, and she's already on it.

"I've got it."

She downed her glass of water without pause. When she's done, some of it dribbles down her cheek, and she doesn't care to wipe it away. Instead, she turns her body to face Dante - at a safe distance! - and she speaks.

She feels like she needs to establish something.

"You kissing me last night means nothing. Our relationship is teacher and student - nothing more." She puts the glass down on the table. "So don't treat me like it's anything more. Got it?"
(Quinn)
[07:13:16] He paused at her words, a bit taken back by it though he didn't show it outwardly. Infact he simply shook his head a few times. "It meant somethin' but I haven't treated ya like anything that what ya are. I like ya, but I know the difference between attraction and affection, and bein' an item with someone. " He grabbed his own glass and took a few sips of water.

"We didn't say anything about being a pair last night, so as it stands, we aren't. If that's how ya think ya want it." he shrugs his shoulders. "Anyways, all I did was make a meal and offer to heal ya." he said with a firm gaze held upon her. "Whether you're confused or nervous or hungover, ya don't need to take it out on me, cuz all I've done since ya woke up is treat ya like I should. Healing is something I can do, so why wouldn't I try to heal you? If I can get ya a glass of water I will. Don't act like I came onto you heavy this morning."

He was a little annoyed by her implications.

"You always gonna snap at me for nothing?" he wasn't angry but wasn't quite pleased either.
(Dante Malakia)
[07:17:32] "My students will never improve if I'm not critical of them."

Her stare is hard, sharp enough to cut. Sharper is her tongue, laced with ice. She betrays no emotion, and Dante was going to have to get used to it. This is how she always was.

He had just had the small chance of seeing her acting otherwise last night.

"Don't take me doing this as an insult, or me taking out anger on you. If you're going to learn from me, you need to realize that this is one of the ways that I teach."

She was being completely truthful; Quinn was tough with her words. 'Verbal training', she called it. What was a warrior who could take strikes with a sword, but not a batinage of words?
(Quinn)
[07:22:40] A shrug of his shoulders at her words. "I've heard far worse things said to and about me. What you say isn't exactly insulting. Just came out of nowhere." he spoke though with the revelation of this being a form of training it only stirred a few thoughts in his mind.

"I said I wanted to learn, don't think that a little quip of the mouth is going to turn me away. I travelled the continent just to find you. I'm not leaving just cuz you snap at me a little bit." If that was what was expected then he'd be letting those expectations down quickly.

He exhaled a breath before taking another drink of water, emptying his glass before looking back upon her. His eyes searched her for a moment before he spoke up. "How was the bacon?" he questioned with a slight smirk, tense atmosphere was far from his favorite.

"Got any training in mind?"
(Dante Malakia)
[07:26:04] Dante would learn that tense was Quinn's favorite. Why? He'd find out.

"I'm not trying to get you to leave."

She doesn't answer his question. Instead, she moves to ascend the stairs leading to the outside of the school. She doesn't look to see if he follows.

"You want to learn? Come on."

Quinn moves to the edge of the rooftop, where the sweet morning air warms her cheeks. She sits down, crossing her legs, and she tips her head up to the sky. Her eyes close, and she folds her hands above her kneecaps.

"This is what you came here for, right? Then follow my lead."
(Quinn)
[07:28:38] "You'd be out of luck if you were."

He then followed along behind her, of course he did, was there ever any question in that matter? He'd followed her without hesitation into combat with a Kaor. Though arguably he had started the conflict.

As they moved out onto the rooftop and she sits in a clear meditatvice stance he smiles a little bit. This was something he definitely had experience with. Both fond and not quite so, memories.

He sat close at her side before assuming a similar position to her own.

"Then lead."
(Dante Malakia)
[07:30:20] Dante Malakia: (Gah forgot to log yesterdays rps)
[07:30:20] Dante Malakia: (Need to do so soon)
[07:37:10] "You seem like you know how to do this part. I have a twist to it, though. I'm going to explain what I'm doing as I do it, so that you can have a step-by-step layout."

Quinn dips her head downwards. Her tense expression falls, and she's neutral.

"I'm focusing on myself. How I feel. What I'm thinking. I can feel my mana, my energy, pulsing. I feel the anger, and I feel the pain. I don't care that it's there. I know that it's there. There's nothing I can do about it except embrace it."

"So I think about it. I think about myself and these feelings. I'm focusing on it, focusing on my thinking, and nothing else..."

She falls silent, delving deep into focus. She can't speak anymore. She dwells within herself, she can feel her plunging her head down within the innermost crevices of her thoughts. Quinn is gone, now - she's elsewhere. She dips her hand into the waters, twirling her fingers around in the swirls of her thoughts...

...and then she returns. Her entire body lights aflame, and it seems as if she's ripping apart the fabric of reality, twisting and shredding the light around her as Quinn's raw spirit projects from her body. It's shimmering with some ethereal light, and her soul manifest twists and whirls with her mana. When she opens her eyes, so does it, and it stands up to move seperately from her body.

It's shuddering, weak with her lack of concentration. She turns to look at Dante.

"This is what you want to learn to do?"
(Quinn)
[07:43:08] He listened closely to what she said. He recognized her as intelligent... Now, wise. She was powerful and skilled as well. It was part of her charm, but attraction aside there was something else he harbored for the young woman....

Respect

As she gave her instructions he simply nodded before watching as she seemingly lost conciousness. He waited a moment or two, wondering if he was supposed to follow suit and do as she had, but suddenly something happened.

The shimmering of her spirit danced near him and his interest grew once more as it had upon their first meeting. The corners of his mouth tugged ever so slightly upwards as he watched, tempted to reach out and touch her very soul, and not in the romanticized way, quite literally so.

Though as it shaped into her figure he looks it up and down with a clearly impressed expression worn on his face.

"That's... Exactly what I want to learn to do." he replied with a nod, the amount of attention being offered only showing that aside from his ,at times, flirtatious and brash nature, Dante harbored a true desire to learn. To grow in power. He had to if he was to repair the damage done to the world.
(Dante Malakia)
[07:49:58] "Meditation is the first step to this."

As she began to speak, the spirit faded. She required a strong connection with her raw feelings to keep it manifest, and the more words she spoke, the lighter and lighter the projection became.

"That's the easiest part. But it goes deeper than that. You - you're Urayan, right? Your mana works a bit differently than me, but I'm sure you can apply the concept. What I do is become so focused on myself, how I feel and my raw emotions, that I fall into a meditative trance."

"There, if you focus hard enough, you can enter your own mind." She spoke of the spirit world. Perhaps, for Dante, he would forge an even stronger connection with his sacred god? "You must create a connection from yourself. One of the biggest downfalls that magi run into is that they lack a firm connection with their soul."

"But your soul... that's the strongest part of you. It's the rawest part of you. If you can utilize that, if you can connect yourself to that, then you can become more powerful than ever before."

"With this connection to your soul established, you can channel it. When you return from your meditation, take all of your emotions, all of your pent up energy, every single thing that you're feeling and thinking, and channel the rawest form of mana that you can into it."

"Then, your spirit becomes manifest. Then, your very soul reaches out into the world and strikes out at your enemy..."
(Quinn)
[07:55:05] Dante Malakia: (neat)
[08:00:12] He was quite impressed honestly. Her display was something odd, though it fit almost perfectly with what he desired to accomlpish. He mulled over her words for a few moments however.

"Hm... I see... Like you said, the way I use mana is different.... I don't actually have it of my own to wield... Caendr channels his power through me. I serve, and in return I am rewarded with his mana, more potent than that of an average magi." he explained as he informed her a bit to give her a better understanding of himself, possibly revealing in part why during combat he tended to become so over run with confidence.

Though in part he was trying to piece together the concept with himself as well. "I see... " he lowered his head slightly and began meditating, slowing his breathing as Kaiza had trained him to do. He remained silent for a long moment, many people didn't get to experience the pleasure of Dante sitting silently.

Though having been trained to meditate since the age of seven... Well it was something he was well practiced in. His father had taught him how to clear away everything but himself and to 'exit' his body, looking upon himself in an empty void. He'd use the same teachings along with the words of Quinn and a desire to impress.

He soon found himself in a void, the building was gone, the forest was gone. Everything was gone, save for himself and the fading spirit of Quinn, though in his current trance her spirit was more prominent to him.

As he tried to establish the connection though he heard more commonly, more clearly the voice of Caendr, beckoning to him. And suddenly the warm comforting glow of Sacred Power began to envelope him, though not in his usual combat ready manner. It was more calm, more stable. Moving evenly with his breathing patterns.

"It's just us... We're alone now... " he muttered quietly beside her.
(Dante Malakia)
[08:04:28] Quinn sits back and watches. Her spirit is gone by now - she's too focused on Dante to sustain it. Besides, she'd rather not waste her energy. Who knew when another Kaor would come crawling by? It wasn't beyond Quinn; much more unprobable had happened in front of the school before.

It almost felt cursed.

She nods in approval as Dante meditates. She can easily mark the point that he's no longer 'there' - his energy shifts, and the glow enveloping him was more concentrated and focused.

Would he be able to manifest the blessing of Caendr, though? Could his God use their connection to reach out into the physical world? She fell silent, allowing him his moment to focus on himself.
(Quinn)
[08:07:53] Dante Malakia: (Going to give 3 attempts)
[08:08:44] Dante Malakia: (5-6 for success)
[08:08:44] Dante Malakia: (Nice...)
[08:14:43] As the Urayan delves deeper into his connection to Caendr his medallion trembles noticably upon his chest, rattling the silver chain attached to it. His breathing remains steady as he focuses but something begins to cloud his mind.

Subconciously he smirks. Confidence swells in him. Confidence in all areas. He was able to turn the wall of the Azraelite city of Toledo to ash, single handedly. He had destroyed the depraved staff of the Cold Star. . He had slayed a dangerous yokai that threatened Valmasia. He had won the affection of Quinn if only briefly, but his confidence even asured him that it wasn't as temporary as she was leading to believe.

These things were all victories. And the inifluence of Caendr drew his victories to the surface of his mind. Almost tangibly so. Strong emotions of confidence, pride, good fortune, they would leak from him into the surrounding area, touching upon Quinn as well and possibly granting her insight into these feelings whiel in the vincinity.

But with his pride swelling it only made it harder to focus on himself. Instead his focus was upon the victories he'd achieved, the ones he would achieve in the future. His focus broke....

Immediately upon snapping out of his meditation he exhaled, the glow dimming though very faintly shimmering about him as he shook his head in dissapointment.

"I thought I had it... " he murmurred to himself clearly frustrated with the failure.
(Dante Malakia)
[08:19:50] Quinn feels the warm glow of Caendr's energies. Quinn admires Dante's faith, but hers lies solely in Kraus, her Father, the Creator. She let her hand rest on the hilt of Revelation at the thought, and she releases a small prayer beneath her breath as Dante is in his own little world.

And then he's back. He's here. Her sharp stare scrutinizes his expression for any signs of success. She knew that he wouldn't get it down on his first try, no, certainly not... but forging a connection to his god was the progress that Quinn was looking for.

"You're getting there, Dante. You know the process. You understand how to do it - I've told you, and I see that you're doing all the right things. Your mistake is not focusing enough on your emotions."

"The truest form of your soul in every-day life is your magic, and your emotions. Your raw feelings express who you are as a person, what makes you you. You're dwelling more on your magic than you are on your feelings."

"The trick to this technique is the raw outburst of feeling. You see - I bury everything. I hole it up. I repress. It's unhealthy, and it has it's drawbacks... but it gives back in the utter power that I unleash in battle."
(Quinn)
[08:31:47] He listened to her words as she spoke, more sound advice. He nodded his head as she spoke. Though emotions weren't something he tended to enjoy getting behind... If he did it'd be revealed he were far more like Quinn than he cared to admit. Though perhaps...

"Bury everything back... Ya don't say..." he teased lightly, though he don't show much of the teasing in his expression or tone. He exhaled before looking her over a moment or two. He then looked out over the land that sprawled before them.

"Ya can't laugh or none of that." he stated almost warninigly. Perhaps if he was to make progress he'd have to open up to someone. Why not Quinn? He felt he could trust her and if nothing more she was far away from the rest of the outfit, so her telling them his embarassing ramblings hardly seemed like a plausible scenario.

"I may have the downfall of hidin' emotions and all that behind humor and teasing." he said with a shrug of his shoulders, not quite looking at her as he hesitated on his words. "I care more than I let on... About alot of things. Alot of people. I cared about last night, more than I'd like to admit. I care that Nostvale has taken my Old Man prisoner. I care that my sister is out there wandering somewhere and I'm not there for her. I care about the people in my outfit. I care about Valmasia bein' destroyed by the depraved Oscuri and yokai agendas bein' pushed." he confessed.

It felt like he held the weight of the world upon him. He was a Sacred Knight... The only one that had surfaced in Valmasia in decades if not a century atleast. He was one of the very few True Urayans remaining that hadn't been killed off. The duty of cleansing the world and helping restore it from the depraved forces that crippled it... All these things fell upon him as his duty.

"Jokin' about it is easy. But facin' the reality of it, not so much." he exhaled and shook his head slowly. "I dunno if sayin' it allowed is supposed to help or not but I probably won't do so again. But I guess if I know what I'm repressin' it might make it easier to pull strength... I dunno... You're the one teachin'. Gimme advice." he said without looking at her.

"How did Valmasia fall into such dark times..."
(Dante Malakia)
[08:33:29] Dante Malakia: (Thanks apollo!)
[08:36:03] "Everything you just told me?" Quinn begins, with a satisfied tone, "Use that to channel your sacred energy."

She stretches her legs out, and she nods at Dante. He's on the right track. She doesn't comment on anything he's said - no, she uses it as material.

"Take all of those emotions you're holding back, all of that worry and fear and rage, and express it with your connection to your gods. Let yourself go free... with the power of your energy."


(Quinn)
[08:37:45] Dante Malakia: (Praise Caendr )
[08:47:08] He exhales deeply as he lowers his head once more. "Gotcha... " he murmurs before focusing on his thoughts once more. Though this time there was far more to work with. Rather than simply his confidence and desire for victory in all things, Dante was pulling forth the things he kept hidden behind a wall of humor and snide comments.

To be fair he had quite the good teacher. Quinn was clearly experienced training and aiding people, and more so she was experienced in the subject matter at hand. Of course that was what lead him to study under her tutilage.

With the weight baring down on him, rather than shouldering it all he would focus on it. He'd bring it inwards, almost as if absorbing it into himself as he slipped out of conciousness, his head lulling lowly as his mind began to clear, blanking until everything was empty.

The Academy, the flowers before him, the forest that expanded around them.... Even Quinn faded away with the lack of her mystic aura activated and he spirit expressed outwardly. He was alone... Alone with the thoughts, the emotions, the worries, the stress. It all danced around him as he remained in solitude.

And Then...

He was not alone. There was someone with him. Someone familiar but distant. The murmurring in his deepest thoughts stirred as he heard the voice of Caendr within his mind and the warm glow grew about him once more. It reformed into the steady and concentrated form it once had, but this time it was warmer... Brighter... More potent. More tangible.

Suddenly Dante began to lift up, though he also remained seated. The sensation was odd as he rose to his feet and noticed that the dark void he cast himself into during meditation was gone. Instead there was only the confident and victorious glow of Caendr, binding around him as he glanced down to see that his body was still sitting in place, though he held a second body now. His form etheral but corporeal at the same time. It was crafted of a Golden shimmering light, and whilst it wasn't quite as potent as Quinn's Spirit seperation.... It was definitely a step in the right direction.

He grinned, his pride swelled once more and looked to Quinn. He moved in a moment of pure gladness and embraced her quickly before suddenly feeling himself implode upone contact with her. His eyes snapped open and he was back in his own body, but he blinked down at his hands knowing that he'd come that much further.

He looked over towards her with the pleasure gleaming in his golden eyes. "It's not perfect...." he spoke, though this time there was a lack of dissapointment and only pride in his achievment.
(Dante Malakia)
[08:52:16] Quinn was pleased. She smiled upon Dante for once, her eyes glimmering with satisfaction. There was nothing better than that glow that a student held when they finally got something.

It looks like Dante was getting the hang of it.

"The more you practice, the easier it'll get. I want you to try to do this very often... but don't over exert yourself. Your energy works differently than mine, but I know that you can still exhaust yourself."
(Quinn)
[08:59:05] The Urayan continued to smile, perhaps more so as she returned the expression. There was satisfaction in her gaze and that in of itself was a bonus to his success.

"Exhausting myself isn't somethin' I'm afraid of." Though with the success he felt that he could never be exhausted. He grinned a moment or two longer before looking out over the forested area.

"I'd like to ask something of you. There's a blade blessed by Caendr possessed by a man within a village in Nostvale's Praries. I wish to claim it. Would you accompany me?" It seems that with each achievment Dante was ready to move onto the next, never fully relishing in his accomplishments, always under the impression that it wasn't quite good enough.

The Depraved had the advantage, it was up to him to turn it back in the favor of the light. If he took too much time to pat himself on the back... Well then he might risk missing an oppurtunity to grow in power and talent and slip back into the rut that all the 'good guys' of Valmasia seemed to.
(Dante Malakia)
[09:05:55] "If you plan the expedition during the time that the school isn't busy, yes. I'm one of the only people working here nowadays, with... Lyse gone, and everything."

Saying the name pained her. She needed to speak with Lyse soon.

"Give me a few weeks notice, and I'll try to make it. There are no promises, though."
(Quinn)
[09:09:20] He frowned slightly at the mention of Lyse's name and the way it clearly pained Quinn. He was less than pleased. "I'll hang around to help you with whatever ya need, Quinn." he stated reassuringly.

"Running this place alone can't be easy. I'll hang around a bit and help with whatever I can. If ya ever need anything you just say the word and I'll take care of it." he said with a quick nod.

"I'll make sure to give you plenty of notice before hand. You're more than a valubale ally in combat, it'd be poor choice on my part to not have you come with me."
(Dante Malakia)